Aug. 30, 2007

Loyola women's soccer lifts the lid on the 2007 season this weekend as the Ramblers take on a pair of tough regional opponents at the Boilermaker Challenge Cup in West Lafayette, Ind. Loyola, ranked 13th in the SoccerBuzz Great Lakes Regional rankings, opens play tomorrow afternoon (Aug. 31, 4:30 p.m.) against Louisville before taking on Kentucky on Sunday in the tournament finale.

The Ramblers return nine starters from last year's Horizon League tournament championship team, including All-Horizon League First Team selections Heather Lau, Cynthia Morote-Ariza and Jackie Vera. Morote-Ariza and Vera, both sophomores, lead what promises to be a potent offensive attack as the Ramblers look to build upon a 2006 campaign that saw them score a program record 42 goals and rack up 14 wins. Lau is a stalwart in the midfield while also helping with a defense that produced a school-record eight clean sheets last season. All four defenders return but LU must replace graduated keeper Emily Peick, who left Rogers Park with nearly every career goalkeeping record.

Below is a brief rundown of Loyola's two opponents.

Louisville

Picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST's stacked National Division, and ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Region, Louisville is coming off its best season in program history. The Cardinals, who went 6-0-3 in non-conference matches last season, finished 13-4-3 last season, earning their first-ever national ranking and NCAA Tournament berth in the process. Senior Monique Gjini is the team's leading returning scorer, coming off a 2006 season in which she racked up 17 points on five goals and seven assists.

Kentucky

Ranked fourth in the region, Kentucky is coming off a season in which it claimed its second Southeastern Conference tournament title, finishing 13-6-2 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will look to build on that success this fall, as they return four of their top five scorers, led by Megan Jones (7G, 5A, 17PTS). The match will mark Loyola's second-ever match against a SEC team, with the first being a 2-0 loss to Florida in last season's NCAA Tournament First Round match.